Humanitarian Country Report

BRA - 2024

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Executive Summary

Of course. As an expert Protection and Reporting Officer, here is the executive summary for the humanitarian report on Brazil.

Executive Summary: BRA 2024 Humanitarian Report

Brazil is grappling with a large-scale and complex humanitarian situation, hosting a diverse population of nearly 800,000 people of concern, a figure that has more than doubled since 2019. This surge is overwhelmingly driven by regional displacement, with over 464,000 displaced Venezuelans forming the largest cohort. The population is distinctly youthful, creating significant and immediate needs in child protection, education, and maternal healthcare.

The most critical protection challenge is the immense strain on Brazil’s national asylum system, evidenced by a backlog of over 257,000 pending asylum claims. This systemic delay creates prolonged uncertainty for asylum-seekers, severely impeding their access to legal rights, stable employment, and essential services, thereby heightening their vulnerability. While the state employs a protection-oriented prima facie policy for Venezuelans, asylum outcomes for other nationalities are starkly differentiated, revealing potential protection gaps for individuals in mixed migration flows.

The humanitarian landscape is further complicated by a significant outward displacement of over 326,000 Brazilians, who are concentrated in a single host country, highlighting distinct protection needs originating within Brazil.

With formal resettlement and repatriation pathways statistically negligible, local integration has become the de facto primary durable solution for the vast majority of refugees in Brazil. However, the lack of formalized and measurable integration programs presents a major gap between the scale of the need and the available solutions.

Strategic priorities must focus on two fronts: providing targeted support to strengthen national asylum capacity and clear the critical case backlog, and urgently investing in robust, measurable local integration programs to foster self-reliance and provide long-term stability for the hundreds of thousands of people in need of international protection.

Population Overview

Population Overview: Summary

As of 2024, Brazil hosts a diverse population of nearly 800,000 people of concern, a figure that has more than doubled since 2019. This rapid and sustained growth is overwhelmingly driven by regional displacement, primarily the ongoing crisis in Venezuela.

Key Trends & Population Composition: The largest demographic consists of over 464,000 “other people in need of international protection,” a category dominated by displaced Venezuelans. The population of concern is distinctly youthful, with a large proportion of children and adolescents, indicating a high dependency ratio and significant demand for services such as education, child protection, and maternal and child healthcare. A substantial working-age population also highlights the critical need for effective livelihood and economic integration programs to foster self-reliance. The response is heavily concentrated on populations from the Americas, with Venezuelans and Cubans comprising the vast majority of all recognized refugees.

Protection Risks & Systemic Pressures: The primary protection risk is the immense and growing pressure on Brazil’s national asylum and integration systems. This is evidenced by a significant backlog of over 257,000 asylum-seekers awaiting decisions on their claims. The unabated influx, with over 101,000 new arrivals from Venezuela between 2023 and 2024 alone, continues to strain reception capacity and access to essential services, heightening the vulnerability of new arrivals.

Actionable Insights: 1. Targeted Programming: The availability of 100% age and gender-disaggregated data enables humanitarian partners to design precise, evidence-based interventions tailored to the specific needs of youth, women, and other vulnerable groups. 2. Focus on Core Needs: Response strategies must prioritize child protection, education, and healthcare to address the needs of the youthful population, alongside robust livelihood initiatives to support the large working-age cohort. 3. Tailored Integration: While the response must be adapted to the linguistic and cultural needs of the predominant Spanish-speaking Venezuelan and Cuban communities, care must be taken to ensure that the distinct protection needs of smaller refugee groups are not overlooked.

Demographics

AI Insight: As of 2024, Brazil hosts nearly 800,000 people of concern, a population with diverse legal statuses and needs.

The treemap visualization clearly shows that the largest group, over 464,000 individuals, consists of “Other people in need of international protection.” This category is predominantly composed of Venezuelans displaced by the crisis in their country.

The second most significant population is asylum-seekers, with over 257,000 people awaiting a decision on their claims. This highlights the considerable pressure on Brazil’s asylum system.

Finally, Brazil is also home to over 74,000 recognized refugees from various nationalities who have been granted formal protection. Smaller groups, such as stateless persons, complete the protection landscape.

AI Insight: As of 2024, Brazil hosts 754,946 persons of concern, with complete gender and age data available for all individuals.

The population pyramid for this group reveals a distinctly youthful demographic. There is a broad base, indicating a large number of children and adolescents, which narrows towards the older age groups. This structure highlights a significant need for services such as education, child protection, and maternal and child healthcare.

The substantial proportion of working-age adults, both male and female, underscores the importance of livelihood programs, skills training, and economic integration to foster self-reliance. The excellent data quality, with 100% disaggregation, allows humanitarian partners to design precise, evidence-based interventions that cater to the specific needs of different age and gender groups.

Geography & Movements

Section Summary: Geography & Movements

Brazil’s geographical position in the Americas establishes it as a pivotal country in the regional displacement landscape, acting as both a major recipient of asylum-seekers and a country of origin. Its role as a host nation has transformed dramatically in recent years, shifting from historically smaller, varied displaced populations to managing a large-scale influx driven by regional crises.

Key Trends & Protection Risks:

  1. Inward Displacement Dominated by Regional Crises: As of 2024, the forcibly displaced population within Brazil is overwhelmingly composed of individuals from Venezuela, with Cubans forming the second-largest group. This highlights Brazil’s critical role as a sanctuary for those fleeing complex emergencies in the Americas. A “long tail” of smaller refugee populations from diverse global conflicts (e.g., Afghanistan, Syria, DRC) also exists, creating a complex protection environment.

  2. Outward Displacement Highly Concentrated: A principal movement corridor exists for Brazilians seeking international protection, with over 326,000 concentrated in a single primary host country. This figure is nearly ten times greater than the next destination, indicating that the protection and well-being of displaced Brazilians are heavily dependent on the policies and conditions within this one key nation.

Actionable Insights & Recommendations:

  • Implement a Dual-Track Protection Response: The demographic makeup of refugees in Brazil necessitates a bifurcated strategy. Large-scale integration and assistance programs are required for the numerous Spanish-speaking populations from the region. Simultaneously, specialized services addressing unique linguistic, cultural, and protection needs must be available for the smaller, more diverse refugee communities.
  • Prioritize Bilateral Engagement: To ensure the protection of displaced Brazilians, programmatic and diplomatic engagement should be prioritized with the primary host country. Understanding the specific pull factors and collaborating on protection frameworks are crucial for addressing the needs of this concentrated population.

AI Insight: This world map highlights the location of Brazil. By isolating the country, the map provides clear geographical context, serving as a foundational reference for understanding UNHCR’s operations in the region.

As an Information Management and Protection Officer, I see this as the starting point for a deeper analysis. Brazil is a crucial country for refugee protection in the Americas, hosting a large number of refugees and migrants, particularly from Venezuela. This map sets the stage for subsequent visualizations that would detail the number of people in need of international protection, their locations within Brazil, and the scope of the humanitarian response. It anchors the data story, reminding us of the specific geographic space where these human experiences unfold.

Origin of Displaced Populations

AI Insight: As of 2024, Brazil’s refugee population is overwhelmingly shaped by regional crises in the Americas. The data clearly shows that the vast majority of refugees originate from Venezuela, highlighting Brazil’s critical role as a host country for those fleeing the ongoing complex emergency. Cubans represent the second-largest group, also reflecting significant regional displacement trends.

Beyond these two nationalities, the numbers decrease sharply, revealing a long tail of smaller refugee populations. These individuals come from diverse and distant countries, including Afghanistan, Syria, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, seeking safety in Brazil from protracted global conflicts.

From a protection standpoint, this distribution necessitates a dual-track response. Large-scale integration and assistance programs are vital for the numerous Spanish-speaking refugees from the region. Simultaneously, specialized services must be available to meet the unique linguistic, cultural, and protection needs of the many smaller, diverse refugee communities.

AI Insight: This visualization illustrates the evolution of Brazil’s forcibly displaced population, highlighting significant shifts in both demographics and data reporting over time.

In the early 1970s, a large population of mostly unknown origin was briefly identified as Cuban, pointing to historical inconsistencies in registration practices. After this period, the overall population decreased and remained relatively small through the 1980s, composed primarily of individuals with unknown or varied origins.

This historical baseline of smaller, less defined populations provides a stark contrast to the dramatic increase and diversification seen in recent decades, most notably the major influx of refugees and migrants from Venezuela. The data underscores a long history of providing refuge, which has profoundly transformed in scale and complexity.

Destination

AI Insight: As of 2024, the displacement pattern for people from Brazil is characterized by a strong concentration in a single primary destination. One country overwhelmingly hosts the vast majority, providing refuge to over 326,000 Brazilians.

This figure is exceptionally high compared to other destinations. The second-ranked host country shelters approximately 34,000 people—nearly ten times fewer than the top destination. Following this, the numbers decrease sharply, with the remaining top eight countries hosting populations ranging from roughly 15,600 down to 2,300 individuals.

This distribution highlights a principal corridor for Brazilians seeking international protection. The specific pull factors of the main host country—such as linguistic ties, established diaspora communities, or particular asylum policies—are crucial for understanding this movement. Efforts to ensure the protection and well-being of displaced Brazilians should prioritize engagement with this key destination country.

Asylum System

Section Summary: Asylum System in Brazil

Brazil’s asylum system is under significant strain, largely driven by the mass displacement from Venezuela since 2018, which has overwhelmed national processing capacity. While the state has responded with a protection-oriented prima facie recognition policy for Venezuelans—resulting in a high number of positive decisions—the historic influx continues to outpace the system’s ability to adjudicate claims in a timely manner.

Key Trends and Protection Risks:

  1. Systemic Backlog and Prolonged Uncertainty: The most critical trend is a substantial and growing backlog of pending cases. This widening gap between new applications and processed decisions translates into prolonged uncertainty for asylum-seekers. This waiting period creates significant protection risks by impeding access to stable employment, education, and the full exercise of legal rights, leaving vulnerable individuals in a protracted state of limbo.

  2. Differentiated Protection Outcomes: Analysis of 2024 decisions reveals highly differentiated outcomes based on nationality. An applicant’s country of origin is a primary determinant of their success. While specific nationalities benefit from high recognition rates (over 50%), many others, often part of complex mixed migration movements, face near-zero approval. This disparity suggests potential protection gaps for individuals whose claims may not fit neatly within the 1951 Convention criteria but who still have protection needs.

  3. Emerging Outward Displacement: A notable trend is the number of Brazilian nationals seeking asylum abroad. Recognition rates for these individuals vary dramatically between host countries (from 26% to less than 1%), indicating both the presence of protection needs within Brazil and inconsistent protection standards internationally.

Actionable Insights:

The data underscores an urgent need for targeted support to strengthen Brazil’s national asylum system. Priority actions should focus on increasing resources and streamlining procedures to address the critical case backlog and reduce waiting times. Furthermore, the starkly different outcomes for various nationalities warrant a deeper analysis to ensure that all individuals with protection needs have access to a fair and efficient asylum process or other legal stay arrangements. Finally, the drivers of displacement from Brazil should be investigated to inform national protection and policy responses.

AI Insight: Over the past decade, Brazil’s asylum landscape has been dramatically reshaped, primarily by the crisis in Venezuela. The data illustrates a massive surge in new asylum applications starting around 2018, overwhelming the processing capacity of the national asylum system.

While the number of positive decisions—notably for Venezuelans through a simplified recognition process—also grew significantly, it could not keep pace with the historic influx. This has resulted in a substantial backlog of pending cases, leaving many individuals in prolonged states of uncertainty as they await a final decision on their claim.

The trend highlights both Brazil’s crucial role as a host country in the region and the immense operational challenges that come with large-scale forced displacement. This situation underscores the critical need for continued support to strengthen national asylum systems to ensure timely access to protection for those in need.

AI Insight: This visualization details the outcomes of over 452,000 asylum decisions made in Brazil during 2024. The plot functions as a flow diagram, showing asylum-seekers’ journeys from their country of origin to the final decision on their claim. The width of each colored band corresponds to the number of individuals.

The most prominent flow is from Venezuela, with the vast majority of cases resulting in a positive decision. This reflects Brazil’s policy of prima facie recognition for this nationality, which streamlines protection for those fleeing the widespread crisis.

Smaller flows from other countries, such as Angola, Cuba, and Haiti, are also visible. These cases are typically assessed individually, leading to a wider distribution of outcomes, including grants of refugee status, other forms of protection, rejections, or administrative closures.

Overall, the data highlights Brazil’s significant effort to process a large and complex asylum caseload, with a clear protection-oriented approach for the largest group of applicants.

AI Insight: This visualization powerfully illustrates the strain on Brazil’s asylum system, particularly in the last decade.

Initially, the number of asylum decisions processed largely kept pace with the number of applications received. However, beginning around 2015, driven primarily by the large-scale displacement from Venezuela, the volume of new applications began to surge dramatically.

The widening gap between the cumulative applications and decisions, visualized as the growing area between the two lines, represents a significant backlog. This directly translates into longer waiting times for vulnerable individuals and families. For asylum-seekers, this prolonged period of uncertainty creates significant protection risks, impeding their access to stable employment, education, and full legal rights. The chart underscores the critical need for increased resources and streamlined procedures to manage the caseload and ensure timely access to protection in Brazil.

Recognition Rates

AI Insight: In 2024, Brazil’s asylum system demonstrates highly differentiated outcomes based on nationality. For the ten countries with the most processed decisions, refugee recognition rates are starkly varied.

Two nationalities have a strong likelihood of receiving protection, with recognition rates of 53% and 62% respectively. This suggests that the circumstances in their countries of origin are well-recognized by Brazilian authorities as meeting the criteria for refugee status.

Conversely, a significant number of the most frequently processed nationalities face near-zero recognition rates. While many individuals from these countries are seeking safety, their claims are largely not resulting in refugee status. This may reflect complex mixed migration movements within the region, where protection needs might not align with the 1951 Convention criteria.

This data highlights that an applicant’s country of origin is a critical factor in the outcome of their asylum claim in Brazil, pointing to distinct protection environments for different populations.

AI Insight: In 2024, recognition rates for asylum-seekers from Brazil vary dramatically across the top 10 host countries that process the most claims. While one country granted protection in 26% of its decisions, this stands in stark contrast to the majority, where recognition rates are below 10%, some as low as 1%.

This disparity indicates that the likelihood of a Brazilian national receiving international protection is highly dependent on the country of asylum. The data also highlights the presence of protection needs among Brazilian nationals, prompting a closer look at the specific circumstances driving these asylum claims. The fact that the highest rate comes from a country processing a large volume of cases suggests a significant, recognized protection issue for this particular group of applicants.

Solutions

Of course. As a Protection and Reporting Officer, here is a synthesized summary for the report section.

Section Summary: Durable Solutions

Analysis of durable solutions data for Brazil reveals a significant disparity between the country’s role as a major host nation and the limited scale of formalized solution pathways available to refugees and others in need of international protection. The primary trends indicate that while Brazil participates in refugee resettlement, its contribution is modest, characterized by fluctuating, low-volume arrivals that do not constitute a sustained, large-scale program. Concurrently, voluntary repatriation from Brazil is statistically negligible, indicating it is not a viable pathway for the current refugee population.

Key Protection Risks & Gaps: The minimal figures for both resettlement and repatriation, when contrasted with the hundreds of thousands of displaced persons hosted by Brazil, highlight a critical protection gap. The vast majority of this population lacks access to these formal durable solutions, placing them in a situation of prolonged uncertainty. The primary risk is that without clear pathways, refugees may face significant barriers to long-term stability, self-reliance, and the full enjoyment of their rights.

Actionable Insights: The data strongly suggests that local integration is the de facto, if not de jure, primary durable solution for refugees in Brazil. However, the lack of quantification for integration outcomes presents a major challenge for programming and advocacy.

  • Strategic Priority: Humanitarian actors and government partners must prioritize the strengthening of local integration pathways. This includes investing in programs that support economic inclusion, social cohesion, and access to services.
  • Monitoring and Evaluation: There is an urgent need to develop robust frameworks to measure and monitor the progress of local integration. Tracking indicators such as secure legal status, access to employment, and inclusion in national social safety nets is essential to identify gaps and effectively target support.
  • Advocacy: Advocacy efforts should focus on securing the political and financial support necessary to create an enabling environment for local integration, recognizing it as the most realistic and scalable durable solution for the vast majority of refugees in the country.

AI Insight: Based on the data for Brazil, the country’s documented role in durable solutions for refugees is primarily as a country of resettlement. However, the scale of this activity is modest and has fluctuated significantly over the past decade.

The number of refugees resettled to Brazil has seen peaks and troughs, with the highest year recording 117 arrivals, but no consistent upward trend is apparent. This suggests that resettlement to Brazil occurs on a small-scale, case-by-case basis rather than through a large, sustained program.

Crucially, the data shows no significant voluntary repatriation of refugees from Brazil during this period. When compared to the hundreds of thousands of refugees and others in need of international protection that Brazil hosts, these formal solution figures are minimal. This highlights that for the vast majority of displaced persons in Brazil, a durable solution remains a future goal, with local integration being the most likely, though unquantified, path.